Independent creative agency, Special, has elevated five team members into its creative leadership, appointing Max McKeon, Sian Binder, Lea Egan, Nils Eberhardt, and Simon Gibson to roles as Group Creative Directors.

“This crew is some of the best and brightest that our industry has to offer, so we are damn proud to be able to offer them the opportunity to not only do great work, but to lead and let others at Special learn from their creative leadership," said Partner and CCO at Special, Jules Schreiber.

Binder and Egan, who joined Special in 2020, have led multiple campaigns for brands such as Bonds, Mutti, and eBay Australia. Prior to Special. Binder held creative roles at DDB, Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi and BMF, whilst Egan spent time at Clemenger BBDO, Anomaly, Droga5 and Publicis Mojo.

Gibson and Eberhardt teamed up at special three years ago and have worked on campaigns for Uber Eats, Kathmandu, Pepsi Max, and Virgin Australia. Eberhardt joined the agency in 2017, following stints at Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB and BMF. Gibson joined the fold three years later, after spending time at R/GA and 72andSunny in New York, and Clemenger BBDO locally.

McKeon, also with the company for three years, has contributed to campaigns for Uber, Pepsi, Tide, DB Export, and Pedigree. He has previously worked for Publicis Mojo and The Monkeys, as well as Saatchi & Saatchi in New York and Colenso BBDO in Auckland.

All five newly promoted Group Creative Directors have been recognised with awards at D&AD, AWARD, and Cannes.

"We couldn’t be more fortunate to not have to look overseas or even across Australia, but simply stand up and look across our old warehouse to find five amazing creative leaders," said Partner and CCO at Special, Tom Martin.